Irrfan Khan, as the brand ambassador of minority affairs

Irrfan Khan, who was chosen as the brand ambassador of the minority affairs ministry talks about it and how getting into politics in India is not something easy. With such international recognition as an actor, we can say that he is in a way an Indian ambassador for international cinema.Talking about how he feels on taking up this new position, here is what he says,
“I’m not looking at it as a religious or a political thing. I could be an ambassador for Christians, for that matter, or for any other minority which needs to be picked up and brought into the mainstream. For me, a minority is a minority, any group which needs support to come into the mainstream. Society may have divided them into religious or caste brackets for classification, but for me, that does not matter.”

So what does Irrfan Khan plan for the minority of the country, now that he has a responsibility in his hands, “There is no one way. UP has its own challenges when you speak of the minorities, Maharashtra has its own. The biggest deficiency is lack of awareness. We are often congratulatory about people coming out to vote – but are they voting as aware citizens? They still get manipulated while voting, caste ke chakkar mein, religion ke chakkar mein. Yeh mera banda hai… They are not able to see through a guy, what his intentions actually are. Woh awareness logon mein nahi hai. Education, awareness, and an opportunity to earn a living – these should be the key things” he says speaking on it.

When he was asked if his next step in politics would be to become an MP, here’s what he says,
“I’ve never even imagined myself there. It’s a place to do things (Parliament) but even there, there is perhaps only so much the system lets you do. For the young generation, this is a very odd inspiration – that this (politics) is the most lucrative line. And this, I think, is the most tragic aspect of today’s times – that we are seeing these designations, or whatever you may call them, as lucrative career options.